E.J.: “I was living in New York. Nkenge was in D.C. I would call her at 6 a.m. saying, ‘I’m about to get in front of the jury: What should I tell them?’”

N.H.J.: “A Senator named Barack Obama decided he wanted to run for office. I moved to Colorado; we won that state, by the way.”

EngagedFirst Rock Baptist Church, Prospect, Virginia | 2012

N.H.J.: “His grandmother was turning 100, and everyone had gathered in the family church. My husband gets up and says, ‘I can’t think of a better time to show my love for the woman I love. Then he bends on one knee.”

N.H.J.: “Colorado is the only state where you can self-solemnize, no judge, no priest, no friend who got licensed at a Unitarian church. You pick up your marriage license and have a ceremony.”

RelocationMove to Oregon | March 2013

N.H.J.: “The idea was to become country lawyers. We were starting a law practice.”

E.J.: “I had signed up a couple of cases, but it was a different mentality in Oregon. To understand the language, the smiles, I needed a job in the system. That’s where the job with the attorney general came in.”

NightmareIn 2016, the Johnsons filed suit against employer DOJ for putting Erious under digital surveillance. The October 2017 settlement with DOJ required vacating his position.

E.J.: “My wife drove the suit. When it’s time for battle, she clicks in."

Ambitions

N.H.J.: “In D.C., I was always boastful about Oregon. We have a great congressional delegation. Then when I moved back home, I was so disappointed. But we’re staying. I want Erious to have what Oregon is supposed to be."

E.J.: I’m working on my memoirs, have a couple of screenplays. I would like to start a rap battle league. I’ve been doing some sculpting.”

Marital communications

Homelife

N.H.J.: “We like to cook and bake. We’ll stop by our favorite WinCo, grab shrimp, crab and do a good seafood boil. I make pie crust, and he turns them into pop tarts, man snacks.”

A version of this article appears in the November/December issue of Oregon Business.